Kyle LeBoeuf

So, Apple announced the iPad at a media event Wednesday and, as usual, the whole internet has blown up over the device. Unusually though, it seems that there is a very significant portion of the population out there that feels like there is no use for the device.

I’ve seen some pretty scathing editorials from websites such as Gizmodo, and Engadget, these websites all have a difficult time of determining a use for the iPad.

I disagree with about 60% of the tech pundits when I say this. I think the iPad is awesome. I think the tech pundits need to stop gabbing about its lack of multi-tasking/flash support and look at one thing:

Who really cares about multi-tasking and flash support? I mean really? The iPhone and iPod Touch has become prolific, and you don’t hear the average joe complaining about the lack of multi-tasking and flash support. The average user really doesn’t care. Flash support is something that is going to become moot over the next couple of years with the advancements in HTML5, and I imagine that eventually Apple is going to open the doors to multi-tasking, so in the end, it really doesn’t matter.

Everyone and their mom is going to want one of these. They want to be able to browse the internet from their couch without worrying about the complications that are involved with dealing with a full fledged computer. It’s less of a hassle to use an iPhone OS-equipped device to browse the internet. Just touch and go. No worrying about settings or configurations, or which browser to use. It’s simple.

One writer for Gizmodo put it in a good way: “The iPad is the Gadget We Never Knew We Needed.”

I think this thing is going to take off. And for all the people laughing at Apple for coming up with something like the iPad,  I think Apple is going to get the last laugh.

All the way to the bank.

So, pretty much everyone knows that something special is going on down in Cupertino, and the whole world is about to find out exactly what it is tomorrow during Apple’s media event.

Of course, we all figure that it’s some sort of tablet device but the public is very conflicted over what features the tablet will and won’t have. What will it look like? What operating system will it run? Will we be able to run our iPhone apps? What kind of connectivity will it have? If it does have some kind of wireless (as in mobile) data capability, which wireless data provider(s) will support it?

These are just a few of the questions that are posed by the public over this tablet. Here are some of mine:

1) Will I be able to use the tablet as a direct supplement to my Mac? (i.e. a portable external display or touch interface like a Wacom tablet)
Something that most of these other tablet-type devices lack is the ability to expand and enhance the functionality of the “primary computer”. Most of these devices are trying to be your secondary computer, but I think it would expand its market a little wider if it presented some advantage to existing Mac users (or PC, but I highly doubt that Apple would allow the tablet to enhance functionality on an inferior Operating System)

2) Will I have more control over its use (as opposed to the iPhone/iPod) or will Apple impose restrictions on the API and applications like the iPhone?
Something like a tablet can have more advanced use and functionality beyond that of the iPhone, so I wonder if Apple will be a little more lenient about the APIs and uses that applications built for this device will have.

3) Will I have to purchase one with data connectivity or will there be model that works on wifi only (similar to the iPhone/iPod relationship)?
If I would be interested in getting a tablet, I wouldn’t care for the 3G connectivity. It would be nice but I don’t really want to pay for a dedicated data service. I’d rather pay for tethering on my phone.

I have quite a few more questions about this upcoming tablet (Apple could even surprise us and not introduce a tablet at all) and you can be assured that I will be ready at my computer at noon tomorrow to scan the live blogs.

I’m not going to discuss the rumors in this space (update: with one exception, see the PS), as there are plenty of other websites out there that is beating that horse to death, but I will say that I am pretty excited about this.

I’ll be posting here with my thoughts within a few days of the announcement so stay tuned (if you care about this blog at all…haha).

PS: For what its worth, I do not think that Apple will announce the end to AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity contract. Too soon. I think some people are getting hopeful and jumping the gun on this one.